The present invention relates to an ice piece dispenser for a conventional household refrigerator and more specifically to an ice dispenser of the type disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,994 issued Jan. 21, 1969 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,244 issued Apr. 8, 1969. Briefly described, such a dispenser comprises a receptacle for receiving and storing ice pieces from an automatic ice maker and dispensing means rotatably supported in a horizontal position within the receptacle so that, upon operation thereof, ice pieces will be automatically dispensed through a discharge opening in the front end of the receptacle. The dispensing means comprises a feed section for feeding ice pieces to the discharge opening and a conveying section connected to the feed section and rotatable therewith. The feed section comprises a cylindrical collar containing therein a conveyor screw or metering helix rotatable with the collar and the discharge opening is positioned relative to the outlet of the feed section. The feed section also adjusts the delivery rate of the ice pieces to prescribed limits for user convenience and also provides a moderate flow rate of ice pieces independently of the reservoir or receptacle fill level.
To continually move ice pieces into the rotatable feed section there is employed a collector wire auger having a helically coiled portion connected at one end to the feed section and the other end is connected to drive means for rotating the wire helical auger and feed section. The transition from the collector wire auger to the metering helix in the collar of the feed section is accomplished by maintaining a transition pool of continually moving ice pieces at the auger output and allowing the ice pieces to fall into the metering helix within the collar of the feed section as they randomly present themselves in the proper position and orientation.
The usual construction of the collector wire auger presents an impediment to the smooth flow of ice pieces to the metering helix in the feed section. The reason for this impediment is that the wire auger bends sharply from a helix to become an axial shaft coincident with the helix center axis. This shaft is then extended to become the central axis and drive shaft for the metering helix in the feed section. It is this sharp bend or crook in the wire, which occurs directly in the transition pool of ice pieces that is destructive of the smooth delivery flow of ice pieces into the feed section. Moreover, it has been found that clumps of ice pieces tend to form about the helically coiled portion of the wire auger and as it is rotating the clumps of ice pieces travel toward the feed section where they become lodged on the crook section and then rotate with the auger thereby disrupting the flow of free ice pieces into the feed section.
By this invention there is provided a different shape wire auger that enhances the smooth flow of ice pieces from the receptacle into the feed section and also helps dispose of the accumulation of clumps of ice about the helically coiled portion of the wire auger.